Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Hovde Group started coverage on Provident Financial Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $18.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.03. Provident Financial Services has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 1.08.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.13). Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.79%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Provident Financial Services will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP James A. Christy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.88, for a total value of $73,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,223.52. This trade represents a 9.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Provident Financial Services by 13,182.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,854,596 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,633 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,683,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $142,605,000 after buying an additional 713,688 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 892,708 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $16,569,000 after buying an additional 416,020 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $5,564,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 55.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 795,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,771,000 after acquiring an additional 283,879 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.